A part of my time at Moremi Game Reserve was spent in dugout canoes on the water. Whether this was truly hazardous or not, I don't know. But the guides were always talking of the dangers of encountering hippos and crocodiles, and I saw both while we were being ferried around.
I guess where we were the water was not deep since the boatmen propelled us much like one would a punt, standing at the rear of the canoe and using a long pole to push the canoe forward.
At one point we encountered some fishermen. They were working in pairs. One would beat the surface of the water with his spear, seeking to drive any aquatic life towards his partner who was armed with a spear. Rather than hold the spear out of the water, the tip of the spear was kept below the surface and short stabbing motions were made as fish swam by.
I wondered if these guys had ever stabbed their feet when they were starting out. When I was a youngster I managed to thrust the tine of a garden fork right through my foot – through the top of my welly, through my foot and out the bottom of my welly. That hurt more than a little. Or did that happen to my brother? I don't have a scar so maybe I dreamed that bit up – like a false memory recovered by a hypnotist.
I'm guessing from this guy's attire that neither crocodiles nor hippos get excited at the color red.
As with yesterday's photo, the shallow depth of field of the 500mm f/8.0 mirror lens is clearly evident in this image.
[ad name=”post”]
